The idea that life can be meaningless has possibly crossed many minds today. One may not see the details of life as significant and may question the value of each day, especially if nothing exciting happens or if one does not make some significant impact on society. As believers, we can also struggle with the daily grind of life and fail to see some of the most exciting and poignant details of the hand of God in our lives.
I have spoken to many believers who express concern about whether or not they will make the right choices in their lives. The questions we struggle with can become overwhelming and cloud a wonderful truth that has recently transformed my thinking regarding these daily life choices. I have experienced this myself in areas like career choices, when to have children, how many children to have, when to quit work, where to serve in the church, and a plethora of other areas where options seemed too numerous for clarity.
There are numerous verses in Scripture that help us to see a truth we overlook. Proverbs 16:9 “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” Proverbs 19:21, ” Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” Psalm 32:8, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.” These verses may be familiar to us but are they transformative in our lives? I have only recently realized the beautiful, transformational truth of these verses when I read about the lives of some familiar people in the Bible.
These notable yet obscure examples of God’s hand and direction in the lives of His children are seen in the story of the Israelites in the Old Testament and Peter in the New Testament. When Moses was called to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, he met opposition from Pharoah. According to God’s promise, there was to be a final event that would cause Pharoah to let the people go.
Exodus 11:1; 4-7 says, “Now the Lord says to Moses, ‘One more plague I will bring on Pharoah and Egypt, after that he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out from here completely.’ Moses said, ‘Thus says the Lord, about midnight I am going out into the midst of Egypt, and the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of the Pharoah who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the millstones, all the firstborn of the cattle as well. Moreover, there shall be a great cry in all the land of Egypt, such as there has not been before and such as shall never be again. But against any of the sons of Israel, A DOG WILL NOT EVEN BARK, whether against man or beast, that you may understand how the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.'”
I am not writing to discuss this passage as a whole, but I am amazed at what Paul David Tripp pointed out about this passage in his book entitled New Morning Mercies. He points out an obscure truth I have never clearly seen until now. He asked, “What kind of power does God have? He has the power to silence the growl of every dog in Egypt. But there is more. He has the power to cause the dogs to distinguish between Israelites and Egyptians. The dogs will wail against the Egyptians and be silent in the presence of Israelites, all because there is a God who rules all things. ”
“The dogs will wail against the Egyptians and be silent in the presence of the Israelites, all because there is a God who rules all things.”
The other passage is in Luke 22:60-61. “But Peter said, ‘Man, I do not know what you are saying! Immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, ‘before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.'” In this familiar passage, we might miss another obscure truth: God’s power in the crowing of a rooster. I read this from a social media post, so I don’t know the original author, but it is too special not to share. The Lord demonstrated His power and control by keeping every rooster in Jerusalem from crowing until the exact moment Peter needed to remember His words. Immediately after Peter had denied the Lord, the rooster crowed, and Peter remembered the words of the Lord. Here is a powerful truth about this passage. “When Peter remembered the word of the Lord, he also had to remember that God is in control. Do you know what Peter’s problem was, why he was filled with fear, and why he denied the Lord? Things had gotten out of hand. His Lord and Master had been betrayed, falsely accused, and arrested. He had been carried away, mocked, and forsaken. Everything was coming apart. Where was God? When the rooster crowed, Peter was reminded that our Lord was still in complete control. Nothing had gotten out of His hand.”
“The Lord demonstrated His power and control by keeping every rooster in Jerusalem from crowing until the exact moment Peter needed to remember His words.”
So, what do roosters crowing and dogs barking have to do with us in our daily mundane living and making of daily choices? We can trust the sovereign control of a good Father who can move even dogs and roosters to bring about His plan for our good and His glory. He will indeed instruct and teach us in the way we should go, but we may need to listen to the “dogs” and the “roosters” along the way!
Love this blog!